Franco Sukaj pays $2.5M for likely dev site in Fordham Manor

Franco Sukaj through the entity 2748 Jerome LLC paid $2.5 million to Rodolfo Fuertes of Fine Fare Supermarkets through the entity 2748 Jerome Avenue LLC for the retail building (K1) at 2748 Jerome Avenue in Fordham Manor, Bronx. The expected use is ground up development.
The deal closed on October 15, 2024 and was recorded on October 22, 2024. The property has 10,000 square feet of built space and 50,200 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 60,200 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $250 and the price per buildable square foot is $41 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)
The signatory for Rodolfo Fuertes was Rodolfo Fuertes. The signatory for Franco Sukaj was Franco Sukaj. The contract date was September 17, 2024.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer Franco Sukaj had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Rodolfo Fuertes had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period.

The property

The retail building in Fordham Manor has 10,000 square feet of built space and 50,200 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 60,200 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 100 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 10,000 square feet. The zoning is R8 which allows for up to 6.02 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $2.7 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $2,050 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

There are no active new building construction projects or major alteration projects with initial costs more than $1 million on this tax lot.

The neighborhood

In Fordham Manor, The bulk, or 35 percent of the 18.4 million square feet of commercial built space are walkup buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space. In sales, Fordham Manor has had very little sales volume relative to other neighborhoods with $79 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Fordham Manor has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 590,238 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 3 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of eight of the 12 commercial properties representing 334,458 square feet of the 438,818 square feet. The largest owner is Shaban Mehaj, followed by Prana Investments and then Peterson Capital.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 94,917 square feet. It is a 94,917 square-foot educational (E) building submitted by KIPP NYC and filed by Ahkilah Johnson with plans filed January 8, 2021 and permitted December 16, 2021.

The majority, or 64 percent of the 438,818 square feet of built space are walkup buildings, with specialty buildings next occupying 22 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Franco Sukaj owned at least seven commercial properties with 235 residential units in New York City with 164,566 square feet and a city-determined market value of $16.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $29 million in debt, with top three lenders as Greystone & Co., Ponce Bank, and NorthEast Community Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 75 percent of the 164,566 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 15 percent of the space. They are all located in Bronx.

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